


throw your hips to the side (you've got spice, but your girls don't know)

by cabooseachievables



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dance, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, evie is a latin dance teacher, honestly this was just self indulgent for my dancer ass self, is this bad? this might be bad, so naturally i HAD to make a maluma joke somewhere in here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-13
Updated: 2018-08-13
Packaged: 2019-06-26 15:34:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15666108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cabooseachievables/pseuds/cabooseachievables
Summary: “I accidentally went into the wrong fucking room and saw the hottest girl ever dancing, and I was just standing there like an idiot watching her until she noticed me, which was probably really weird--” Mal pauses to inhale deeply. “Evie says hello, by the way.”Uma just raises her eyebrows as she takes in all of… that.(The Dance AU where Mal decides to finally take dancing seriously with her best friend Uma, and ends up meeting a gorgeous girl named Evie in the process.)





	throw your hips to the side (you've got spice, but your girls don't know)

**Author's Note:**

> I can't tell if this is terrible or not so please bare with me. Aside from how much fun dance AU's are, this was also an excuse to explore Uma and Mal as best friends/partners in crime. Hope you guys enjoy!
> 
> (Title from Hands On Me - BURNS, Maluma, Rae Sremmurd)

 

If there was anything Mal could say she genuinely enjoyed in this world, it would be dancing. Maybe art, too, but dancing also falls under that same category in a unique way. There’s something so compelling about being able to express yourself through dance moves and allowing music to control your movements. Mal has always felt that way, even when her mother disapproved of the hobby and insisted that she do something else with her life. Anything else, really, even though all she wanted was Mal to be more like _her_.

 

Mal especially found herself becoming more interested in dance after meeting Uma. They were best friends, and more importantly they’d found a common attraction towards the art of dancing. It wasn’t long until they started to dance together, creating their own choreography with every chance they got and evidently driving their mothers up the wall. It was always so easy to get lost in their passion for dancing— so, yeah, Mal has a special place in her heart for the hobby.

 

That’s all it has been for a long time now, though. A hobby. Not that Mal was against taking it seriously and putting all of her time and effort into dancing, but certain parts of her agreed with her mother. Maybe she should just get an education and find a stable job and whatever else society expected of her.

 

Uma has never believed in that. Sieging the first chance available, Uma signed up to take dance classes at the nearest dance studio she could find. Of course, she paid for it with her own money and mentioned none of it to her mother, which could have gotten her in a serious amount of trouble. Trouble would have never stopped her in the end, and god, it made Uma’s life a million times better. Her enjoyment of finally having a community to share the same passion made Mal want to give it a chance, too. And for a very long time, she considered it.

 

Today, she has finally made a decision.

 

There’s a big showcase in a few weeks, and Uma has been on her ass about it for literal days. She’s spent hours trying to convince Mal that this could be a huge opportunity for both of them, and _girl, it’s about time you actually committed yourself to dancing_. Thanks to Uma’s persistence, Mal eventually caved and agreed to do the showcase. And agreeing meant that this would be a turning point in her non-existent dance career because, well, it’ll change from a non-existent one to a career that is just getting started. Which is a pretty big deal.

 

Anyway, Uma decided to reserve a dance room for just the two of them at the dance studio she frequents. The rooms are in top shape with incredible sound equipment— at least, you know, that’s what Uma says. Mal has yet to actually step foot into a legitimate dance studio, let alone this very popular one that Uma has grown fond of. Today is going to be a day of many milestones.

 

The first thing Mal notices when she arrives at the dance studio is how large it is. Seriously, it’s kind of intimidating just staring at it from the outside. In giant, cursive yellow block letters, the studio’s name is printed across the front: _Belle’s Performing Arts Studio._

 

Inside, the lobby looks way too expensive to be a dance studio. There are nice seats that come in assorted pastel colors and detailed murals that occupy every wall in the room. Also, this carpeting literally looks like it came straight out of a magic castle. Mal can’t help but be impressed. Her main issue, though, is that she has no clue where to find the room Uma reserved.

 

To be fair, that’s her own fault. Uma had given her all of the details yesterday after they’d gone to the movies, including directions, but Mal was too busy looking at a cat video on her Instagram feed.

 

There _is_ a front desk in the lobby that could probably be of great help, but apparently nobody is on duty right now because it’s empty. Whatever, Mal can just wander around and find the room herself. How big can this studio be, anyway?

 

...Way too big, apparently. Mal goes down a few hallways and turns a few corners and suddenly it’s as if she’s been trapped in some kind of fucked up maze. She can’t even tell where she’s been before and which hallways are new territory. And let’s be honest, she could just solve this entire issue by calling up Uma and asking her for help. The only thing is, Mal would rather drop dead than do that. So she just continues her journey until eventually she stumbles upon some practice rooms that sound vaguely familiar. Each room is named after one of the seven dwarfs from Snow White— _very_ original, by the way— and fuck if she could remember which one Uma mentioned yesterday. Except she’s almost 100% positive that it was either the Doc or Dopey room. With a breath, Mal just decides to open the door closest to her and—

 

Oh.

 

Yeah, this is the wrong room.

 

She can tell, because Uma is nowhere to be found and instead there's a really gorgeous girl practicing in front of the mirror. The next thing to hit her is the song that’s playing, which is most definitely not in English but has a heavy beat that makes the floor vibrate beneath her feet. The girl's hips are moving along with the rhythm, with every beat that shakes the room. Mal can't move, her eyes glued on the girl's smooth movements that go with whatever choreography she’s practicing. She steps so confidently to the left, throws her arms out, and swings her hair around after one sharp turn. The music and dancing style has become a part of her and she embraces it fully, allowing the sensual tone of the song to fuel her motions. Mal has no idea how long she stands there, watching everything until the music eventually fades out.

 

“I didn't realize I'd have an audience today,” the girl says, and Mal’s eyes snap up to look at her face (because they were definitely roaming elsewhere before). There's no annoyance in her inflection though, only amusement. She picks up a water bottle and brings it just below her lips before adding, “Did you need something?”

 

Mal then becomes very aware of the fact that she hasn't said a single thing this entire time, and has been staring like a total creep. So she says, “Uh.”

 

Smooth.

 

“I, uh— Sorry, I must have come to the wrong room,” Mal apologizes, finally coming to her senses and preparing to slip shamefully out of the room. Before she can, the girl calls out to her.

 

“Who are you looking for?” She asks, capping her water bottle. Mal is trying not to stare so much, but seriously, who is this girl and where the fuck did she come from? Heaven? Her hair is so long and perfect and brown like the color of her eyes, and oh, right, she has to respond.

 

Very briefly, she leans back and checks the name of the room. Dopey. Just her luck to guess incorrectly with a 50/50 chance. “My friend, Uma. We're rehearsing today in the Doc Room, but…” Mal vaguely gestures around to convey her confusion and how she may or may not be lost in this giant dance studio. The girl must understand, because she chuckles lightly. Mal can’t help but laugh a little too.

 

“That's the next room over. Tell Uma that Evie says hello,” the girl—Evie— smiles. “Oh, and,” she catches Mal halfway out of the door again, halting her in her tracks as she finishes, “If you want to watch, all you have to do is ask.”

 

Then she… winks. At Mal.

 

And Mal escapes from the room with slightly flushed cheeks, but you can’t prove that.

 

When she tracks down the _actual_ practice room next door and finds Uma sitting on the floor mindlessly scrolling through her phone, Mal lets out the loudest sigh of relief. It's enough to pique Uma’s interest, who gazes up from her phone with a frown.

 

“What's up with you?” Uma asks before resuming with her phone scrolling.

 

“I accidentally went into the wrong fucking room and saw the hottest girl ever dancing, and I was just standing there like an idiot watching her until she noticed me, which was probably really weird—” Mal pauses to inhale deeply. “Evie says hello, by the way.”

 

Uma just raises her eyebrows as she takes in all of… that, and lets out a long whistle.

 

“So what I'm getting here is you've got the hots for Evie,” Uma says.

 

“That's not the point! It was embarrassing!” Mal nearly shouts in frustration, arms in the air.

 

“Embarrassing because you're a dumbass around hot girls,” Uma adds, much to Mal’s dismay, and she laughs. Mal throws her bag at Uma, who narrowly dodges it. The bag lands somewhere on the floor and slides across the room, and Mal should really get that because her stuff is in there, but her pride says otherwise. Uma snorts at her. “Dude, come on. You have to admit, that's hilarious.”

 

“I'm going to kill you,” Mal threatens, though she's already busy trying to hook up her phone to the speaker system for them to use. Hot girl incident or not, they only have the room reserved for two hours and _one_ of them should get their priorities straight. (That’s not very realistic though, is it?) Uma gets up from the floor once Mal finishes all of the speaker preparation.

 

“Just so you know, Evie teaches the Latin dance classes on Tuesdays. She's also our age and, as far as I know, single,” Uma says smugly. Mal sends her a deadly glare, but they’ve been friends long enough for Uma to know she can simply shrug it off. “Fine, fine, I'll drop it. We have some major choreo to learn, anyway.”

 

And Mal just really wants to forget about her encounter with Evie, because if she doesn’t she’ll most likely end up doing something else that is equally embarrassing. She hits play on their song as soon as Uma is ready, and they get started.

 

  
***

 

Why is Mal doing this, you might ask? Well, the answer is simple, really: she's an idiot when it comes to hot girls.

 

So after some internal debating, Mal grabbed her gym bag and dancing shoes and showed up here in front of the dance studio on a Tuesday night. Her phone says that it’s currently 7:56, which is good, because supposedly the Latin dance classes start at 8PM sharp.

 

...Why is she doing this again?

 

Mal knows nothing about Latin dance moves. Hell, she never even would have considered coming to a class like this if she hadn't run into the super hot dance instructor last week. Dancing is a world of different styles from a variety of cultures, which is pretty fascinating in itself, but Mal would be lying if she said she was here to learn. It’s just that Mal wants to see Evie again, even if she hasn’t developed a plan or thought of anything to say.

 

So, you know, here she is.

 

The room is actually pretty crowded when she gets there, and some Spanish music is playing softly overhead as everyone chats. It seems as though everyone is familiar with each other, meaning they must be regulars or something. Mal just squeezes past people until she finds some free space on the side to place her belongings and stands by herself. If you thought she was going to socialize with these people, you’re dead wrong; instead, she’ll be observant of everyone around her and the few stragglers who are just walking through the door.

 

After a bit of unintentional (intentional) searching, she spots Evie at the front of the room talking to a very excited girl. The royal blue tank top that she’s wearing stands out amongst the crowd, and Mal decides that blue is _definitely_ her color, even in contrast to the red lipstick. Mal checks her phone one more time. 7:59. That’s when the music stops and everyone begins to quiet down, the noise dwindling down to a couple of hushed whispers here and there.

 

“Hi guys, it's great to see everyone here tonight,” Evie greets all of the dancers, scanning the crowd as she speaks to take in the people present. Eventually her eyes land on Mal and, of course, Evie smirks a little. “I see a couple of fresh faces tonight. How about you introduce yourselves?”

 

And Mal honestly expects to get called out first, but instead Evie looks the other way and nods at the girl who had been enthusiastically speaking to her before.

 

“Oh! Hi everyone, I'm Jane,” she beams, waving at everybody. Her absurd amount of kindness is almost painful for Mal to watch. “I've never taken a dance class before, so I'm really excited to be here!”

 

There are a few other newbies who introduce themselves too as they make it around the room, but eventually they get to Mal shifting awkwardly in the corner. “Hey. I'm Mal,” is all she says, arms crossed over her chest as dozens of unwanted eyes fall upon her.

 

“And what do you know about Latin dancing, Mal?” Evie questions in what almost sounds like a teasing tone, hands on her hips. Everyone is staring at her expectantly, awaiting some kind of answer. Why does the room have to be so quiet?

 

“Uh… not much,” Mal answers honestly.

 

“Well, let's change that shall we?” Evie grins. It's as if she's talking directly to Mal, as if there's nobody else in the room with them, which does nothing to ease Mal’s nerves. Then, with one glance at a boy by the speaker system who doesn't miss his cue, a new song begins to play. This one is upbeat, urging the dancers to move along to its rhythm. Evie clasps her hands together and announces, “Let's get started!”

 

The class is actually pretty fun, despite how clueless Mal is when it comes to this type of dancing. Evie explains the moves really well— from salsa to bachata to more current, urban stuff— and makes the lesson enjoyable, even for hopeless beginners such as herself. Not to mention how Evie _does_ the moves, moving her body in ways that must be like a second nature to her. She moves so smoothly and effortlessly and looks incredible the entire time, and Mal can say she definitely doesn't regret coming to this class.

 

Meanwhile, Uma is texting her annoying things such as “lmaooooo how are dance classes with bae going" and “has she even glanced in yr direction yet? u guys must be taking it slow” and shows no sign of stopping. After the fourth time her phone buzzes, Mal just throws the device into her bag.

 

Evie wraps up the class by getting everyone into a circle for people to freestyle in the middle and try out whatever moves they've learned. All of the dancers are having a blast dancing together to whatever song this is (and sure, Mal knows none of the Spanish songs that have been played tonight, but they're actually super catchy. Maybe she should look into that). Individual after individual, someone is always in the center swaying to the music and adding their own personal flare. Mal can't be bothered to try her hand at it, mainly because she's pretty sure she'll embarrass herself, so she half heartedly dances in her spot and watches. It is a lot of fun, she can't deny that, and when the song fades out everyone cheers and claps and Evie smiles so brightly that it's blinding.

 

“Thank you all for coming tonight!” Evie says, and everyone slowly begins to pack up and shuffle out of the practice room.

 

Mal is exhausted and sweaty as she pulls her discarded phone out of her bag to yell at Uma about the messages from earlier. Even though she’d enjoy retaliating with some kind of witty comment, it ends up being a lot of middle finger emojis and a separate text that says “it was a lot of fun actually ngl." Dots appear as Uma starts typing a reply, but Mal never gets to see it because she senses someone approaching her.

 

“Did you enjoy the class?” Evie asks, a smile on her face as she stops in front of Mal.

 

“Oh, yeah. It was fun,” Mal nods. Very briefly, Evie glances around the room and it almost appears as though she’s going to leave the encounter at that.

 

“I have to say, I didn't expect to see you here,” Evie confesses finally.

 

“Yeah, well,” Mal says. “I was curious.” Curious about what exactly, she doesn't specify. Evie eyes her down momentarily, as if thinking hard on those words to decode them.

 

“Then I hope I'll be seeing you at more of my classes, Mal,” Evie says, and how is anyone supposed to deny her of that? Especially when her eyes show signs of hope and perhaps the hint of a challenge. Mal nods silently in agreement, and Evie moves on to speak to other people who haven't left yet. Only then does Mal notice the deafening thrum of her pulse, which absolutely has nothing to do with their previous dancing activities.

 

Her phone vibrates and Mal glances down at her screen to see the latest text from Uma. Being her usual obnoxious self, it’s just a bunch of crying-laughing emojis and the word “whipped.”

 

What the hell has Mal gotten herself into?

 

***

 

When Uma called to inform her that they'd be sharing the practice room with some other people today, she wasn't expecting _this_. Because the last thing she expected was to walk into the room and find Evie, a boy with white hair, and Uma, who is already grinning wickedly in her direction. Mal stops in her tracks just a few steps into the practice room, eyes darting between everyone currently in attendance.

 

“Hey, Mal,” Uma greets innocently. She jabs a thumb towards the two beside her as if Mal can't already see them. There’s no way Uma did this out of the kindness of her ever-so-gracious heart. In fact, it wouldn’t even be shocking if she planned something like this just for the entertainment of it all. Mal tries to avoid looking directly at Evie, so glaring at Uma seems like the best option right now. “Evie and Carlos needed to practice today, and all of the other rooms are being used.”

 

“Sup,” Mal says vaguely, finally daring to gaze in Evie’s direction. Her lips are already quirked upwards just a tad, as if she’s enjoying Mal’s reaction too.

 

But for the most part, Mal manages to be pretty productive with Uma in terms of finishing up their latest choreo. They add a few more steps to the end and change some parts of the beginning, although both of their collective stubbornness makes altering the dance difficult. Naturally the duo gets into back and forth arguments every other minute about what should or shouldn’t be messed with, but their effort pays off in the end. Once they’ve run through the whole choreography enough times, it actually looks pretty damn good.

 

While her and Uma practice on one side of the room, Evie and Carlos do their own thing on the other as they develop their own routines. Between Uma’s critiques and the constant drilling of their dance, over and over, Mal doesn’t get to pay much attention to whatever they’re doing. Nor does she notice the brown eyes that fall on her while she’s dancing, because she’s too busy ensuring that her moves are sharp and in sync with Uma’s. (But if you ask Evie, she’ll deny everything. Maybe she _was_ watching. Can you blame her?)

 

(It’s all about the dancing, though. Shut up.)

 

Less than an hour goes by before Uma gets a phone call and she excuses herself to take it. This gives Mal time to take a well deserved break, sitting down on the cold floor and resting her head against the wall. Her legs are relieved to have a moment’s rest, if only for a few minutes. Nobody informed her that being fully committed to this whole dancing thing would be so exhausting.  
  
She can’t help but observe Evie and Carlos as they go over steps together. It's nothing like the Latin moves that Evie had been teaching the other night during her class. This dance is more contemporary and modern, and it makes Mal wonder what Evie _isn't_ capable of doing.

 

“I'm gonna go grab a water bottle from the vending machine and stop by Jay’s practice for a bit,” Carlos says once they're done running through the dance. There’s sweat on his brow, and it’s obvious that he’s been putting in a lot of effort too. He jogs out of the room with a smile to both girls and Evie comes over, taking a seat right next to Mal. Which is funny since, you know, there's nobody else in the room and she could sit anywhere she wanted to.

 

“You're a great dancer,” Mal finds herself saying, although she refuses to look directly at Evie. She keeps her eyes concentrated on the rest of the empty room instead.

 

“Thank you. You're pretty amazing yourself,” Evie replies. Just as she opens her mouth to say more, the practice room’s door swings open again. Suddenly Uma comes back into the room, annoyance painted across her entire demeanor. When she starts gathering her things, Mal frowns.

 

“What's up?”

 

“I have to go,” Uma sighs. When Mal just stares at her with confusion, she explains, “Harry just called. He got his foot stuck in a fence and needs help getting it out.”

 

“...What?” Evie questions.

 

“My boyfriend is an idiot,” Uma says and picks up all of her stuff before making towards the door. That doesn’t mean she leaves without casting a quick wink at Mal. “We can practice more tomorrow. See you.”

 

And in the blink of an eye, she leaves.

 

“That's… interesting,” Evie comments, and Mal can't help but chuckle breathlessly.

 

“Yeah, try dealing with them as much as I do.”

 

Evie laughs and they fall into a comfortable silence, listening to the song that's playing on Evie’s portable speaker. By now, Mal could really just up and leave considering her practice is officially cancelled for the day. Her legs feel like dead weight however, and Mal is trying to convince herself that it’s a side effect from the dancing and not how terrifyingly comfortable she feels with the girl beside her. Another song from Evie’s playlist comes on, and just as some guy starts whispering his intro, Evie gasps and stands up. She extends a hand to Mal, prompting, “Dance with me?”

 

Mal raises an eyebrow, considering it briefly before actually taking her hand and allowing Evie to help her stand up. They start to dance together as the song plays, moving to the rhythm but more importantly with each other. Evie is the one that leads them, hand still in Mal’s, spinning each other around and pulling their bodies closer as they swing to the music. Their movements are synchronized and it feels so smooth and Evie is grinning at her the whole time, giggling when Mal spins her back and winking when she moves her hips in a particularly wicked manner. Mal doesn't quite realize that she's smiling too, enjoying her time dancing along with Evie.

 

The door to the room opens and Carlos returns, which interrupts the flow of their own little world and drags them back to reality. Evie is still looking at her with joy, chest rising and falling as she catches her breath.

 

“Ready to continue?” Carlos asks, and he’s either really oblivious or excellent at hiding things, because he doesn’t make any notice of the girls’ previous activity.

 

“Yeah,” Evie nods, brown eyes finally tearing away from Mal’s green to look at Carlos. Almost immediately does Mal feel out of place, the fact that Uma is officially gone for the day coming back to mind. A mental image of Uma trying to pry Harry’s foot out of a chain link fence nearly makes her laugh despite all else.

 

“I should get going,” Mal says quietly. She politely declines when Evie and Carlos insist that she stick around for a bit longer, the pace of her heart unnaturally high, and leaves as soon as she throws everything into her gym bag. More importantly, she spends the rest of the night trying to forget how great it felt to dance with Evie.

 

***

 

Mal finds herself at the dance studio again that Tuesday night, off to the side in a crowded room as they all wait for Evie’s class to begin. By now, she’s able to recognize a few faces in the crowd as she scans her surroundings. The boy sitting by the speakers who will hit play on whatever song Evie requires is Carlos. He’s typing away on his phone while chatting casually with a girl beside him who Mal deduces to be Audrey, one of Evie’s friends according to Uma. (There's a bit of background drama there, something about Audrey kind of being a bitch to people she doesn't know, but Mal made sure to point out that Uma is almost exactly the same and has no right complaining.) Somewhere up front with a light blue tracksuit is Jane, who looks just as thrilled to be here as she did last time.

 

Then, of course, there’s Evie in front by the mirrors. She casts a quick glance at the wall clock just as it strikes 8PM and immediately a welcoming smile grows from her lips. Introductions for newbies happen again once they begin, and Mal is relieved to know that she’ll never have to speak in front of the class again— an act that just transports her back into horrible, repressed high school memories. Nobody wants that.

 

“Tonight's class is going to be a lot of fun,” Evie says reassuringly. A few people murmur here and there, but for the most part everyone is intently listening to tonight’s agenda. “The only catch is that you're going to need a partner, so grab someone next to you.”

 

And, really, Mal would rather not. She glances around and all of the people around her are already claiming each other, except for a nerdy looking boy with a terrible case of two left feet and like, that’s a hard pass, so she figures she'll just sit this one out. But then there's a familiar hand held out in front of her, and Evie is standing there expectantly.

 

“Be my partner?” Evie asks, and there's _another_ wink from her. Mal rolls her eyes, but it doesn't mean she won't accept Evie’s hand reluctantly. Reluctantly. That's the key. It's not like she _wants_ to dance with Evie, right? Despite how refreshing it felt last time when they were alone in the practice room and that stupid fluttering thing her heart does.

 

Evie guides her to the front of the room, and Mal immediately regrets her decision. Everyone is going to be watching them for example— watching _Mal_ for example, when she genuinely has no idea what she's doing. But… Evie is still holding her hand, so that's a plus.

 

“You're going to take your partner’s hands like this,” Evie explains to the class. She holds up their joined hands and then places her other hand on Mal’s waist, tugging her closer as if it’s the most natural thing in the world. Not that anyone is complaining. “Then place one hand on their hip.”

 

Everyone does as she says, but Mal is too busy trying not to die on the spot and doesn't pay any attention to what the rest of the class is doing. Her brain is only hyper focused on where Evie’s hands touch her skin and how close their bodies are to the point of feeling every breath the other takes. Evie walks everyone through the next few steps, professionally concentrated on footwork and directions that are easy to understand. Even Mal can pick up on the patterns— right foot forward, right foot back, left foot forward, left foot back— which is a miracle in itself. When she's convinced that she's explained it well enough, Evie gives Carlos his cue to begin playing the music. Then she looks at Mal and smiles shyly, a direct contrast to how she holds her head high.

 

The steps are simple and Mal nails them, but there's something about how Evie is moving with her that makes her nerves skyrocket. Hopefully Evie doesn't notice how her hands slightly shake or her footwork falters every now and then. If Uma was here, she’d be laughing her ass off right about now.

 

“Feel free to get creative,” Evie says, right before giving Mal an impromptu spin. Eventually the song tapers off and all of the dancers look proud of themselves, including Mal sort of. Evie announces that they'll be taking a five minute break, and afterwards they'll learn something new as individuals this time.

 

As a room full of conversations pick up, Evie squeezes Mal’s hand and it reminds her that, oh yeah, they're still holding hands. That's a thing that's still happening.

 

“Thanks for being my partner,” Mal says awkwardly.

 

“Thanks for being _my_ partner,” Evie counters. “You were great! Are you sure you've never taken Latin dance classes before?”

 

“Well, I do have this really awesome teacher…” Mal jokes, smirking.

 

Evie laughs with her whole heart, and it makes all of this worth it.

 

***

  


“Mal, the showcase is next Saturday. We have to get this move down,” Uma grumbles, kicking at Mal, who is sprawled across the floor in the dance room. It’s a back hand flip that takes a _lot_ of effort, energy and practice. In other words, a lot of things Mal does not possess at the moment.

 

“I don't want to,” Mal groans, an arm thrown dramatically over her eyes.

 

“Okay, you've been sulking around for the past two days. What's your deal?” Uma stares down at her, and even though Mal can't see her she knows that Uma is giving her _the look_. The one where Uma pretends that she doesn't really care that much but it's kinda obvious that she does because her eyes tell all secrets.

 

“I am not sulking.”

 

“Are too.”

 

“Am not.”

 

“Is this about your giant crush on Evie?” Uma frowns. When Mal doesn't give her any kind of response, she decides to take it as a yes. “Girl, just ask her out already. She’s obviously gay as hell for you too.”

 

A beat passes and Mal considers all of the things she could respond with in this moment. This includes: _that's way easier said than done_ , or _you don't know that_ or plain old _fuck you!_ But pretty much all of her options would just piss Uma off because of how stubborn she's being. Just like everything else in her life, Mal tries to look for an escape from the conversation.

 

“Did you know that there’s a Colombian singer named Maluma?” Mal says.

 

Uma blinks.  “What?”

 

“Yeah. I was looking into Latin music at like, three in the morning, and found this guy named Maluma. His name is literally just ours put together,” Mal moves away the arm that had been covering her eyes and frowns. “Isn’t that fucked up?”

 

Uma looks _exasperated_.

 

“Alright. Get up,” Uma says, tugging at Mal and pulling her off of the floor. Mal just complains and groans the entire time, but eventually she's on her feet. Then Uma is leading her out of the room and to another one, where she stops in front of the door. “Evie is in here. You are going to go in there, talk to her, and get her number or something. Ask her out. Just do _something_ or so help me, I will do it for you.” She leaves Mal alone to head back to their practice room, and Mal takes a deep breath.

 

Standing outside of this door is seriously bringing back a sense of deja vu.

 

Mal opens the door and is instantly hit with whatever Latin bop is playing this time, which Evie is in the middle of dancing to.

 

_Baby keep your hands on me, know that I should leave but I just can't leave you._

 

This time Mal can understand the words, and the voice sounds somewhat familiar. It's gonna bother her until she can place the voice later.Her eyes are currently fixated on the movements of Evie’s hips and how her hands explore the expanse of her torso as she steps from side to side.

 

_Know you feel my energy, if I took your heart swear I didn't mean to._

 

Then Evie stops dancing, breathing heavily, and she turns to face Mal who stands in the doorway.

 

“Mind if I watch?” Mal asks, remembering that first conversation they'd had when she was unceremoniously caught staring. Evie giggles at that.

 

“Of course,” she says, and gestures to all of the empty space in the room as if telling her to take a seat somewhere. Mal sits down by one of the walls as Evie continues, “Are you practicing today?”

 

“I was just with Uma, but…” Mal trails off. She decides to change the subject. “Is this a new dance?”

 

Luckily the conversation shift isn't commented on, as instead Evie smiles a little at the question. “Mhm. You're the first to see it, actually.”

 

“I must be pretty special,” Mal says, half joking, but the look that Evie sends her way is one that she can't quite read. And then she's running through the dance again just for her, from the top. It's so wonderful being able to watch up close, and with the benefit of not feeling like a creep. This choreography is a work in progress clearly, but with the right amount of tweaking the dance could be ethereal. Hell, just watching the performance takes Mal’s breath away.

 

“What do you think?” Evie asks when she's done dancing and goes to stop the music from repeating, this time allowing it to move on to another song.

 

“Incredible, impressive, beautiful, pretty hot,” Mal lists, but then, “Oh, and the dance was pretty cool too.” Evie giggles again, and this time Mal swears that she's blushing. A rush of excitement fills her veins.

 

“Did you come here just to flatter me, Mal?” Evie questions. One eyebrow is raised as she comes over to sit next to Mal like she did last time, despite all of this perfectly free space elsewhere.

 

“Maybe. Also because I haven't been able to stop thinking about you for, like, the past few weeks and Uma was going to kill me if I didn't come finally ask you out.”

 

“Mm, very romantic,” Evie teases. “Though if it counts for anything, I've been thinking about you too.”

 

“Wow, obsessed much?” Mal jokes.

 

“You're the one who watches me dance from doorways and then shows up at my dance classes.”

 

“Well, when you put it like that it does sound a little obsessive,” Mal pouts, having its desired effect when the other girl simply rests against her.

 

“A little,” Evie laughs. “It's cute.”

 

“Does that mean you'll go out to dinner with me?”

 

Evie pretends to think about it, then decides, “Only if you dance with me again.”

 

And, really, how could Mal say no to a proposition like that? They stand up and start dancing to the current song, although this time Evie doesn't lead. Instead, Mal wraps her arms around Evie’s waist and sways with her to the beat. Her confidence is making an appearance today, though that isn't to say that being confident is a rare feat for Mal. It just so happens that being nervous is reserved exclusively for moments around attractive girls and guys. But having Evie’s arms around her neck makes things a lot easier.

 

Also, this same male voice that's singing right now is getting _extremely_ familiar. It’s seriously starting to bother her, because he sounds like somebody she's heard before, maybe on Spotify last night at three in the morning— until the realization hits her like a truck.

 

“...Is this Maluma?”

 

Evie almost looks surprised. Impressed,  maybe? “Mm, it is.”

 

“Isn’t it weird how his name—”

 

The reaction is instant as Evie groans, “I know. Mal and Uma. Audrey has been making jokes about it for _days_.” Her words are not what Mal was expecting to hear in the slightest, so it's safe to say that Mal laughs the hardest she has laughed in a very long time. That fact alone is both refreshing and electrifying, as Mal discovers it will always feel this way around Evie.

 

They dance together for an indeterminate amount of time, enjoying themselves to the fullest and Mal completely forgets that Uma is probably waiting for her and that they have a very important showcase next weekend. Not to mention that move they haven't perfected yet. Or the unpredictable future of Mal’s dancing career.

 

Oh well.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> (This isn't sponsored by Maluma but, like, if you've never heard of him go look up his music.)
> 
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated, as usual! Come talk to me if you want to on tumblr @ harryumas or @ agentjungkook on twitter. <3


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